I agree, I gave ETTR a try but honestly beginners are better off nailing the exposure in their camer as much as possible and learning how the histogram should look in camera for a specific scene vs worrying about keeping everything on the right.

Nailing an exposure means getting the exposure that produces the very best final result. In digital photography the best final result comes from as much exposure as possible without clipping the highlights. That's a well established fact based on hard science.

If you're a beginner and don't have the skill to control your equipment with precision then you can be more conservative and not worry. You won't get the very best result but you'll still have very usable photos. So you honestly gave ETTR a try and backed down. You're entitled to do that just as we're entitled to master it and get that best possible final result if that's what we want to do.

This also keeps you safer from over exposing your photos which is the main thing that I mention that is a con from ETTR (You're more prone to losing your highlights).

Producing the best possible photo isn't about being safe it's about applying the effort and developing the skill to be accurate.